Easy Carpentry Projects for Children

I bought this for my son to go with a set of "grown up" hand tools he received as a Christmas gift. The book is well written with just enough illustrations...not cluttered with too much information. It's like the author is standing next to you, talking you through the entire project. Every project seems to be laid out in logical order. A caution I'd mention is that the reading level suggested with the book is Ages 4-8...which is accurate...but reading level and carpentry skill are not the same. My son is 6, and this is fun with LOTS of adult supervision. I think he will enjoy this book more when he is in the 8-10 age range. One other caution I would mention is that this book was written in 1959. Some of the projects - like the shoeshine kit - are a bit dated. So, all in all, I would recommend the book, but for an older age-range and don't expect anything high-tech here.

and the bird feeder has worked wonderfully! He wanted to make some projects with his tools, and it was a great bonding experience working with his grandpa. It was one of his Christmas gifts he was excited about!

I like the Dover books, which generally re-print older books on decent-enough paper for a low price. This book is no exception; it's an old-fashioned book that was originally published in the 1950s. The projects all involve hand tools instead of power tools, although the modern equivalent (with appropriate supervision) could be substituted. I generally like the older tools, although they're slower and require more actual skill to use. Your junior woodworker should know how to read and have some basic familiarity with the tools (or some scrap lumber handy to figure out how to use them). Ideally, s/he would also have some basic familiarity with some of the concepts of woodworking, like the fact that you spend more time with the sandpaper than with the saw. With a child old enough to figure out most of the directions on his/her own, I think this would work best for what the child development people call "parallel play:" your junior woodworker works independently on his (or her) project, and you work independently on your own unrelated project -- but in the same room or area. This approach allows independence and encourages problem-solving, while still letting you keep a carefully peeled eye to head off disasters (ideally without the child noticing how closely you're watching). The major downside for the younger kids is that the there's nothing about woodworking that lends itself to instant success (or commercially slick achievements on a first try). Persistence, patience and a decent attention span are necessary for the completion of projects. Here's the list of fifteen projects in this inexpensive book: sailboat bird feeder hot dish coaster steamboat toy sled tie rack book rack table lamp clock shelf candlesticks towel holder cart birdhouse for a wren shoeshine kit flower box To be honest, these projects may or may not interest your youngster, and unfortunately our media generation may not consider these projects exciting enough or impressive enough to justify all the time and energy they require. (Then they'll complain that everything these days is mass-produced plastic.) As with all craft-y projects, you should consider what you could do with it when you're done. If the answer is "can't do anything with any of these," then perhaps you should look for a different book.

I'm not a child (60) but I wanted some simple woodworking projects to get started with. This is a great resource